Garden Surprise

Every spring for the last six years, a single lily in my back garden pushes up through the warming ground, reaching skyward toward the sun.

Every year it tries to grow tall; every year it fails. I don’t know why, and perhaps I should have put the poor thing out of its misery years ago.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to pull him up.

This year was no different. A month or so ago I began to see the first signs that my little lily was going to give it a go again this year. I gave it props for its persistence, but I knew how this story would end – without anything to show for its trouble. I thought about pulling it up.

I didn’t.

Last week I went out into the backyard and discovered a big fat bulging bud on the end of a ridiculously thin stalk. It wobbled around in the wind like a bobble-head. Again, I gave the little thing props for trying, but I didn’t think it would last. How could it, it had never bloomed before.

So, imagine my surprise when I peered out into the growing light this morning and discovered this:

OH! Good to know. Thank you! I will correct my mistake immediately. I just assumed. I didn’t plant it. It was there when we moved in. I told my daughter this morning that we should probably move it once it’s passed to the front bed that is mostly sun.

The easiest way to tell them is their leaves – lilies have leaves along the stems, while daylilies form a clump of grassy-like leaves and then the leafless stems hold one to a dozen blooms. And true to their name, they only bloom for a day, but when they’re planted in masses, you usually get a nice display for several days or weeks, with one opening after another.